Halloween: Returns

6- Roadside Murder

Johnny took another long sip of his energy drink and tightened his aging hands on the steering wheel. He stretched his mouth open to yawn, and reached down and turned the volume knob of the stereo up, using the music to help keep himself awake in his long drive.

A slow country song had come on the radio; it was one he'd heard plenty of times before, and if he was being honest, one he was getting a bit sick of. But, whatever it took to keep him up and alert in this journey was Johnny's mindset. He rolled down the window, sticking his left arm out of it, feeling the Autumn night air, feeling its warm glow pleasantly hit his hand.

He took a look at the gloomy, barren road; he hadn't seen another vehicle in what must've been about ten minutes. The large trees at either side of the road loomed over his van, the bare branches twisting off into the full moonlight. Looking at them for long enough, he began to feel himself slipping; he immediately shook his head and took another swig from his energy drink, forcing himself to stay awake. He reached down to play with the buttons on his dark blue overalls, desperately trying to keep himself occupied. He began singing along to the new song which had started playing on the radio- this one he wasn't as familiar with. He chipped in at the few parts he knew, but lost himself during the majority of the song. He reached down and turned the radio off; he didn't like that song much anyway.

He began singing a tune to himself- one with plenty of rhythm to it. Despite his efforts, he began to feel himself slipping again. He turned his eyes off the road and took another large gulp of his drink, practically finishing it off. When he looked back to the road, he noticed something further down; it looked like a car. As he got closer, he could make out more of it; it was heavily damaged, and lay smashed against a large tree, just off the side of the road. He slowed down, looking around for anyone near it who might want help.

Johnny stopped the van and withdrew his seatbelt. He rubbed his weary eyes, opened the door and climbed out of his vehicle, leaving the headlights on for visibility. He cautiously approached the lone car, keeping his eyes open for anyone who needed help. However, the headlights only illuminated so much.

"Hello?" Johnny tried. "Anyone there?"

As he approached the car, he could just barely make out the words 'Smith's Grove Sanitarium' on the side of it. He strode up to the driver-side window and peered in- nothing. Nothing but shattered glass from the windows all over the seats. He looked in the back seats; same there. Sighing, he turned around to walk back to his van.

Johnny froze. Though silhouetted by the headlights, standing in the front of the van was a figure resembling a man. The man stood completely still- not a single muscle moving. Confused, frightened and anxious, Johnny cleared his throat and spoke up.

"Hey, uh..." he began. "Is this your car? I saw it... I saw it crashed into the tree, and I thought I would see if you were okay, is all." Johnny began waking towards the man. "I wasn't doing anything funny, sir, I swear." From this shortened distance, Johnny could make out a little bit more of the man. He appeared to be wearing a robe, of sorts- something akin to a hospital robe. Beyond the natural sounds of the night, he heard something that sounded much more unnatural; horrid, heavy breathing, coming directly from the silhouetted man in front of him.

"Sir, please, I didn't mean to..." Johnny continued, but stopped when he noticed something. In his right hand, the man held something close to his side. He hadn't been able to make it out before, but it was much clearer now. In his right hand, the man held a jagged piece of glass, clearly taken from the car wreckage. Johnny's eyes widened, and he backed away. "What... what are you...?"

The man began advancing towards him, the coarse breathing becoming louder. Johnny staggered back, suddenly panicking from the imminent danger pacing towards him. He began running down the opposite end of the road, but the man swung the piece of glass at him, catching him at the back of the neck. He stumbled down to the pavement, clutching his injury. Blood leaked through his finger as he stumbled back up; however, the man grabbed the back of his collar, pulling him back down onto the road.

Johnny looked up in terror; even this close, Johnny still couldn't make out the man's face. Only his disturbed breathing. The man held the glass shard up into the air, preparing for his final strike. He pulled it downwards, aiming for the neck. However, Johnny grabbed the man's arm, attempting to hold the sharp object away from him. After a few seconds of resistance, Johnny's muscles gave way, sending the knife plunging into his neck. Johnny's eyes bulged; for a couple of seconds, all he could feel was agony as the shard was plunged deeper into his neck, penetrating the trachea. Johnny finally fell limp as his blood leaked into a puddle onto the cemented road.

Grabbing his body, the man removed Johnny's overalls, shirt, and work boots. Putting them on himself, he dropped the lifeless and almost naked corpse next to the wreckage of the Smith's Grove vehicle. Climbing into Johnny's van, he started the ignition, and drove down the road.

Down to Haddonfield.